Five years later, Edward VIII, then King, shocked the world when he announced that he was abdicating the throne after just 11 months to “marry the woman I love”.

While nearly a century ago now, the headlines, painting Simpson as a femme fatale using her wiles to tear the royal family apart, are eerily reminiscent to those we’ve seen this week since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s announcement.

The Queen Mother, whose husband was unexpectedly thrust onto the throne, described her as “the lowest of the low” and even blamed her for his early death. There were scathing op-eds in the papers – again, much like today – accusing Simpson of being a “harlot”, causing “grievous harm” and painting her as an outsider. Simpson was born in New York to British parents.

Wallis Simpson: the cautionary tale of the ‘American outsider’ we all missed